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77 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Who is considered the "Father of the Constition?"
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James Madison
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Who was the principal author of the Decalaration of Independence?
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Thomas Jefferson
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Who was the first Secretary of the Treasury and proponent of the U.S. Bank?
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Alexander Hamilton
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Which English philospher argued most strnogly for natural rights of individuals?
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John Locke
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What were the Federalist Papers, and who were the three authors?
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Essays defending basic principles and specific provisions of the Constitution of 1787, by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay
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What was the Magna Carta?
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1st steps toward limiting absolute power of the monarchy. King John promised not to infringe on the customary feudal rights of the nobility. Range of classes protected broadened by the 14th century.
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What was the outcome of the Missouri Compromise?
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(1820) 22 states, divided into 11 free and 11 slave. Missouri would tip the balance. Compromise required that a line be drawn across Missouri at 36 degrees 30' north. Slavery would be prohibited north of that line.
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Where was sovereignty placed in the Articles of Confederation?
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Asserts the sovereignty of each state, except for the specific powers delegated to the confederation government, i.e. "Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated."
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What was the result of the Great (Connecticut) Compromise?
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Bicameral legis. (house based on pop., senate equal) - 3/5 comp. represent all of non free persons. The convention narrowly approved the Compromise by 5-4 vote.
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Who are the current members of the U.S. Supreme Court?
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Chief Justice - John Roberts
Associate Justices - Alito, Breyer, Ginsburg, Kagan, Kennedy, Scalia, Sotomayor, Thomas |
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How does our textbook define constiutionalism?
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Empahsizes limited government and the rule of law, in a ddition to fundamental worth of each individual and the rights and liberties that accompany each person.
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How are amendments added to the U.S. Constitution? How many do we have?
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27.
Proposal - requires either 2/3 vote of both houses of Congress or a national constitutional convention Ratification - amendments must be ratified by 3/4 of the states, either in their legislatures of by special covnentions called for this purpose. |
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Which case generally is recognized as starting the process of judicial review?
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Marbury v. Madison (1803)
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The system proposed by Madison to keep pwoer from being concentrated in one place is?
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In Federalist 51, he expressed the logica that "Ambition must be made to counteract ambition." Led to system of checks and balances, enabling one brach of govt to wield some power over others.
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What was the Watergate Affair?
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Prosecuter Jaworski requrested Pres. Nixon to produce 64 White House tapes and cos relating to certain convs b/t him and his aides. He refused, claiming 'executive privilege' and Supreme Court forced him to turn over the evidence.
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What was the significant result of Plessy v. Ferguson?
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"Separate but equal" doctrine in Louisiana State law was deemed constitutional
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What was the significant result of Brown v. Board of Education
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Declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional.
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What are enumerated powers?
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Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution lists the 17 powers specfically enumterated to the Constitution. (Express powers of Congress)
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What are implied powers?
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Art. I, Sec. 8 allows Cognress "to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers".
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What are reserved powers?
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10th amendment - those not listed in the constitution are left for the states.
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What was the importance of Heart of Atlanta Motel v. U.S.?
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Congress may remove any obstruction to the flow of interstate commerce. Hotels and motels exert an economic impact on commerce.
Was a way to combat racial discrimination. |
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What was the importance of South Dakota v. Dole?
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SD set the drinking age to 19 for lower alcohol content beverages and Congress witheld Federal Highway Funds from the state until they changed their age requirement to the national standard (21). Congress may attach conditions to federal funds.
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What is the two-step process required in the impeachment of a President?
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Impeachment for, and Conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.
- House of Rep. votes on impeachment. If passes, trial of impeachment goes to Senate. Requires 2/3 vote. |
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Which Supreme Court case first recognized the doctrine of implied powers?
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McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
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What did the Supreme Court say about Dred Scott's citizenship claim?
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"No person held to service or labor in a State, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in cosnequence of any law therein, be discharged from such service or labor." As a black man, he was not allowed to bring suit to the court because he was of African origin and not considered a U.S. citizen.
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The right of "consenting adults to engage in sexual acts was upheld in what case?
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Lawrence v. Texas
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What is "selective incorporation"? How does it work?
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Palko v. CT (1937) When the Sc finds a right to be "fundamental," it will consider it to be a "liberty" as described in the 14th amendment's due process of law clause.
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What does the exclusionary rule do?
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Mapp v. Ohio - SC ruled that evidence seized in violation of provisions of the 4th amendment was inadmissible in Federal court.
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Who must bear the burden of proof in "rational scrutiny?" In "strict scrutiny?"
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Burden of proof on plaintiff. State must who only a "rational" basis in the law or show that the law is "rational" and makes sense.
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Who must bear the burden of proof in "strict scrutiny?"
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Relates to Suspect classification (Race, color, national origin) - Fundamental rights (voting, travel, privacy). Burden of proof is on the state.
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What constitutional protections were announced in Miranda v. Arizona?
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Miranda Rights - "right to remain silent, presence of an attorney, waive effectuation of these rights..."
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When do the courts use "heightened scrutiny?"
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Court test of laws or regulations. They must have classifications that must serve "important governmental objectives. Sex discrimination in the military is example. Used in gender related cases . (Craig v. Boren - 1976)
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What limits have the courts allowed to be placed on abortion rights?
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Fetus has rights depending on trimester and is not as important as the health of the mother. (Roe v. Wade)
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What has the Supreme Court said about the issue of student drug testing?
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Vernonia School District v. Acton - Cour t upheld policy requiring drug tests of athletes.
Pottowatamie School District v. Earls (2002) - upheld policy requiring drug testing of all students engaging in extra curricular activities. - New Jersey v. TLO - reduced requirements of probable cause in schools. |
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Is affirmative action still allowable after Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger?
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Grutter v. Bollinger - SC reverses and upholds the use of race and other facts realted to life experiences in admissions.
Gratz v. Bollinger - University points system's "predetermined point allocations" that awarded 20 ponits to underrepresented minorities "ensures that diversity of applications cannot be individually assessed" - unconstitutional |
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What are some of the "exceptions" to the requirement of a search warrant?
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Exigencies - automobile exception, border exception, police checkpoints, hot pursuit.
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What was the significant ruling in Gideon v. Wainwright?
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Right to counsel.
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What was the McCarthy Era about?
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(R- Wis.) Used a subcommittee of Senate Foreign Relations comm. to make repeated unsubstantiated charges against public officials and privte individuals suspected of treason. - Allegations resulted in a series of loyalty/security investigations into the backgrounds/activities of public employees, scientists, and academics.
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What did the Supreme Court rule in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris?
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Upheld voucher system b/c it was a program of "true private choice" and was "neutral in all respects toward religion" by conferring benefits to all individuals with children in the Cleveland School district without reference to religion.
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Which Supreme Court case upheld the right of student to protest a political issue?
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Tinker v. Des Moines
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Which Supreme Court case upheld the right of a person to burn the American flag?
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Texas v. Johnson - freedom of expression - symbolic flag burning
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What are the Miller v. California requirements for obscenity?
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1. "Average person applying contemporary community standards" would find that the work taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest.
2. whether the work depicts/describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law. 3. whether the work, as a whole, lacks serious, literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. |
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How can public officials collect damages for libel?
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Public officials have to prove "actual malice," that is, with knowledge that publication is false or demonstrated reckless disregard for truth or falsity. (New York Times v. Sullivan)
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Who wrote the Memorial and Remonstrate against Religious Assessments?
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James Madison
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What is the "child-benefit" theory?
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A law allowing textbooks to be purchased with public money did not violate the establishment clause.
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What is actual malice?
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Derived from NYT v. Sullivan werein one suing for libel damages must prove that statements were made with either knowledge that they were false or demonstrated a reckless disregard for their truth or falsity.
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What is simple malice?
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Defamatory statements about person which are false but made in "good faith" that they are true; insufficient for public officials or figures to awarded libel damages.
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What was the importance of Engel v. Vitale?
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Unconstitutional for state officials to compose an official school prayer and require its recitation in public schools.
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What do we mean by "Equal Access?"
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Court maintained that it is necessary to guarantee the fundamental right to vote, and that equal access to the 'franchise' - voting booth - must be maintained. Came with abolishing the Poll Tax in 1966.
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Can the Ten Commandments be displayed on public property? Van Orden v. Perry; McCreary County v. ACLU
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The Rulings were different b/c in the 1st case, the monument was accompanied with many other monuments that held a purely secular purpose and had no obvious religious connection or intention at the Texas Capitol. In the other (McCreary County), the Kentucky courthouses had added framed copies of the 10 commandments and only after threats of litigation added other things to the collections so as to make it appear as not having a religious purpose.
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What is the commerce clause?
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The Commerce Clause refers to Art. 1, Sec. 8, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution, which gives Congress the power "to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes"
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What was the Virginia Plan?
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Advocated bicameral legislature, executive branch, and a judicial branch.
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What was the Revolution of 1937?
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Congress should apply national quotas to wheat grown on one's own land, for one's own consumption, b/c the total of such local production and consumption was sufficiently large as to impact the overall goal of stabilizing prices. This change in the Court's decisions is often referred as such in whcih the Court shifted from engaging in judicial activism to protect property rights, to a paradign which focused most strongly on protecting civil liberties. (U.S. v. Lopez)
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What happened at Runnymede?
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Where King John in 1215 fixed his seal to a strip of parchment that Winston Churchill later called "the most famous milestone of our rights and freedom." The document was the Magna Carta.
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What is a writ of certiorari?
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A decision by the Supreme court to hear an appeal from a lower court.
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What is the focus of the 25th amendment?
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Presidential disability and succession
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What was John Marshall's basic philosophy?
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judicial nationalism (4 parts)
1. popular sovereignty 2. supreme national government 3. role of supreme court 4. flexibility of the Constitution |
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What are the different types of opinions written by Supreme Court justices?
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per curiam (unanimous), majority, concurring, dissenting.
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What is a federal system of government?
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Government based on recognition of the existence of sub-national units such as states or provinces and leaves powers for them to exercise.
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What was the Great Society?
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Set of domestic programs set up by LBJ including War on Poverty, Head Start, Medicaid, and Medicare.
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What was the New Deal?
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FDR programs with massive increases in federal programs such Social Security, FDIC, and farm subsidies.
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What were John C. Calhoun's key ideas?
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State Sovereignty - states pre-date and the sovereignty thereof are what led to the capacity to establish the federal government.
Nullification - holds that states possessed complete sovereignty prior to the constitution, and that they never surrendered it. |
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What was the ruling in Kelo v. New London?
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Expanded the meaning of "public use" by upholding a city plan to condemn private property for commercial purposes.
-- ruled that an economic development plan to revitalize city was a legitimate reason -- property eventually would be given to private parties for development -- court says this is public use |
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What is the term for government's power to take private property for public use?
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Eminent domain.
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What was the purpose of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act?
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Made illegal any monopoly that was in restraint of trade in interstate commerce.
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Who was Frederick Douglass and what did he talk about?
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He was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing.
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What is a stop and frisk search?
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The situation in which a police officer who is suspicious of an individual detains the person and runs his hands lightly over the suspect's outer garments to determine if the person is carrying a concealed weapon. (Terry v. Ohio) authorized pat-down search. - requires "reasonable suspicion"
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How does the American w/ Disabilities Act define disability?
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Protection is extend to anyone with (A) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of an individual, (B) a record of such an impairment, or (C) being regarded as having such an impairment.
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What limitations on abortion were upheld in Planned Parenthood v. Casey?
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States may not create "undue burden" on woman's decisions. Location must be a hospital. 24 hour waiting period. Mandatory conselling. Parental notification for minors.
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Who said that restrictions on an open press were wrong because they were used by tyrants not deserving allegiance or respect?
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John Milton - "Areopagitica"
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What said that censorship of ideas is wrong because censored ideas may be true and the majority opinion may be in error?
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J.S. Mill
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The ruling in Schenk v. U.S. established what 1st Amendment test?
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In upholding the constitutionality of the Espionage Act of 1917, the Supreme Court articulated the Clear and Present Danger doctrine.
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What are the three theories of the Establishment Clause noted in the textbook?
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1. strict separation
2. governmental-neutrality theory 3. government-accommodation theory |
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What is the "strict-separation" theory of the Est. Clause?
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(no-aid theory): incorporates "wall of separation" and reflects a rigid division between secular and religious authorities and structures.
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What is the "governmental-neutrality" theory of the Est. Clause?
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Requires that government be neutral in various matters involving religioun in the public order. Msut not aid or hamper religion
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what is the "government
-accommodation" theory of the Est. Clause? |
Only some form of secular accommodation of religion can reconcile the inherent clash b/t two religion clauses of the 1st Amendment.
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What are the 3 parts of the "Lemon Test"?
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1. Secular, legislative purpose
2. Principal or primary effect must be one that neither advances nor inhibits religion 3. statute must not foster "an excessive government entanglement with religion." |
